A
ArtS
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It's never too early to get ready for next year. I took two new rifles out to the range today to shoot for the first time. The first is a Kidd receiver with a Lilja barrel, 19" long. The receiver was milled off at the front of the tenon hole and a threaded steel bushing installed. It is mounted in a custom aluminum stock with a barrel clamp and rear tang. Trigger is Kidd 2 stage. Scope is a Nightforce Comp. Tuner is a Harrel with a bloop tube cut to the Purdy 5th harmonic and a Noodle added. Weight ready to go is 15 lb-8 oz.
The second is a Kidd receiver with a 25" Benchmark 3 groove slip fit. Stock is a curly cherry/curly maple laminated with carbon fiber reinforcement. Trigger is Kidd 2stage and scope is a T-36. The stock has 1-1/2 lbs added to the buttstock to give the proper balance. Same tuner setup as the first. All up weight is 11 lb 5 0z.
They both shot pretty well. In the picture below, the upper right bull is the first 5 shot group fired with Center X from the Benchmark barrel and no tuner adjustment. (I fired 4 sighting rounds before this group). Total down the tube at this point was 9 rounds. The lower two 5-shot groups were the final group from each gun after tuning adjustment. Ammo for these was Midas. The wind was a little blustery, and the temp started at 45deg on its way to 80 with a bright sun, so mirage was starting to cause a problem. The Benchmark group is on the right, the Lilja on the left.
The Benchmark seems to have a slight advantage right now, and is more tolerant of tuning due to its length. The Lilja gun is much more forgiving of shooting technique and variation due to the weight and stiffness. One key thing is that the gun doesn't move on recoil, even in the Delrin one piece rest. It should be really stable on bags, not requiring reseating between shots. That could be a big advantage.
Before spring, I intend to swap stocks for a trial, and try 5 or 6 more ammo types, then do some serious tuning. I am going to try and hit the ground running next spring.
The second is a Kidd receiver with a 25" Benchmark 3 groove slip fit. Stock is a curly cherry/curly maple laminated with carbon fiber reinforcement. Trigger is Kidd 2stage and scope is a T-36. The stock has 1-1/2 lbs added to the buttstock to give the proper balance. Same tuner setup as the first. All up weight is 11 lb 5 0z.
They both shot pretty well. In the picture below, the upper right bull is the first 5 shot group fired with Center X from the Benchmark barrel and no tuner adjustment. (I fired 4 sighting rounds before this group). Total down the tube at this point was 9 rounds. The lower two 5-shot groups were the final group from each gun after tuning adjustment. Ammo for these was Midas. The wind was a little blustery, and the temp started at 45deg on its way to 80 with a bright sun, so mirage was starting to cause a problem. The Benchmark group is on the right, the Lilja on the left.
The Benchmark seems to have a slight advantage right now, and is more tolerant of tuning due to its length. The Lilja gun is much more forgiving of shooting technique and variation due to the weight and stiffness. One key thing is that the gun doesn't move on recoil, even in the Delrin one piece rest. It should be really stable on bags, not requiring reseating between shots. That could be a big advantage.
Before spring, I intend to swap stocks for a trial, and try 5 or 6 more ammo types, then do some serious tuning. I am going to try and hit the ground running next spring.
